


Emergency

by Zimithrus1



Series: ClackWeek2018!! [1]
Category: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Clack, Kissing, Light Romance, M/M, Mild Language, Status Effects, bit of blood, but not too much, clackweek2018, god it's been so long i've almost forgotten how to tag things, zakkura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 12:24:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15606213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zimithrus1/pseuds/Zimithrus1
Summary: A standard mission soon turns dangerous when a Great Malboro shows up in the Mt. Corel Mines! Now if only Cloud and Zack were on speaking terms...Written for clackweek2018!Day 1: Emergency





	Emergency

**Author's Note:**

> I know I haven't updated anything on here in god knows how long -mainly because I've lacked the motivation and mental willpower for quite some time. But I'll be Damned if I miss out on clack week Again! I haven't gotten to participate every day in any of the past years, so I'm kind of making myself do it. (Don't get me wrong, I absolutely want to! It was just hard to get the energy for it!)
> 
> So here it is! Day one! Hope you like it! :D  
> (And no, I have no idea how to make things short.)

**Emergency**

* * *

 

It had been three days and Cloud _still_ wasn’t talking to him.

Zack didn’t even know what he did wrong. Everything had seemed fine the day they got together to train –which wasn’t anything new for the two of them. They met in the simulation room on the SOLDIER floor and proceeded as they usually did; booting up a location, selecting the preferred combat type, and sparring with one another.

Then afterwards they took a break and went out to eat and engage in some pointless chatter, which was also something they did nearly every day. But for some reason during their normal luncheon, Cloud seemed extra reserved and wasn’t really enjoying their usual banter as much. Come to think of it, his friend _did_ mention something about needing to talk to him about something that day.

Zack caught on to the cadet’s mood and unreadable face rather quickly, wanting to know what was going on, but also knowing how hard it was for him to speak about certain things. But knowing how Cloud dealt with things, he didn’t want to push the issue or try to force anything out of him; it often times made matters worse.

So he tried to distract him at times or get him to laugh –like he normally did when Cloud was upset. But his usual tactics to bring the other out of a stupor didn’t do anything that time –in fact, it seemed to do the opposite!

The more Zack would joke and laugh and try to sidetrack Cloud from his seemingly turbulent thoughts, the more upset he looked! For every happy interruption or jovial distraction, the deeper the frown on his best friend’s face would grow. Eventually, after a bit more strong-armed maneuvers to try and get the other to a more relaxed state of mind before speaking, Cloud snapped; slammed his hands onto the table, gave him a firm watery-eyed look, then muttered out,

_“I should have known this was a joke.”_

Then he stormed out of the restaurant and didn’t come back. After that, Zack didn’t seem him at all –until _today_ that is. Of course, how _could_ Cloud ignore him now when they were paired on a mission together?

They were currently traversing through the Corel coal mines searching for important Shin-Ra weapons that the conniving rat known as Don Corneo stole and hid. The Turks were able to get intel from one of his lackeys about the location of the company’s weapons and had now sent the two of them for retrieval. Why they couldn’t just send the Turks to finish their job was something just out of Zack’s comprehension, but whatever.

He brought himself out of his stupor and the frown on his face deepened. What had Cloud so upset anyway? All he did was try to get that glum expression off his face those three days ago. What had been so different that hadn’t been before?

He glanced behind him to see how Cloud was holding up in the dank terrain. He was still trailing a little way behind him with his blue eyes set and his face firm. But the moment their eyes connected, the blond was all but eager to give Zack the same angrily wounded look from before, then turn his head away and keep walking.

He just didn’t understand. He shook his head gently before turning his Mako blue eyes back to the cavernous path before him. It honestly stung when Cloud looked at him like that; made his chest hurt and his skin itch. He didn’t know why and he didn’t like it. Cloud had never been this upset with him before –who knows, maybe even ever?

But it was more than just the fact that he didn’t know what was going on inside his best friend’s head, it was the fact that he really cared for Cloud and he hated both feeling like this, and seeing the blond like that. They had been friends for probably a solid two years now, knew things about the other than probably their own mothers wouldn’t know. They’ve shared their laughter and their pain, shared their greatest dreams and their darkest fears.

Zack had never been this close with any of his other friends either. He always wanted to hang out with Cloud, even if they never did anything special or fun. Just being with him was enough.

Although a pink blush managed to creep its way onto his face and he nervously cleared his throat, the sound slightly echoing. He didn’t know when he started to feel embarrassed and vulnerable around his friend though. A month? A year? Maybe even longer. He wouldn’t ever try to hide his insecurities or deep thoughts anymore just because Cloud always knew when he was hiding something and _always_ found a way to pull it out of him with little to no effort at all.

He was more like an open picture book nowadays, where he had once been a bit of a chaptered journal with an iffy lock –opening up to the right people, but not just anyone. Cloud read though him with ease just as he could do the same. Except for that one unreadable look plastered on his face three days ago. That had been a face he had never seen before. He never was one to read the room or take minute facial details into account, but for some reason, for that face, he did.

Cloud seemed hesitant; his eyes glistened that emotion as sure as stars. He seemed unsure; his eyebrows had furrowed. He seemed serious; the tight pull to the corners of his mouth giving that away. He seemed scared; The unusual paleness of his cheeks replacing the usual glow they had. But most of all, the one emotion he could make out above all the rest was nervous determination; The way his posture was straight and stiff, like he couldn’t relax around him now.

But what did all of those strange cues mean? Just what had Cloud been trying to say? He kind of wished he hadn’t done all that joking and distracting. Had he just read the fine details printed on his best friend’s face, maybe he wouldn’t be in this silent situation now.

All of a sudden, he was tired of wondering why. Now he wanted to know.

“Alright Cloud,” Zack started, raising his voice a little to grab his friend’s attention, “I know you’re mad at me and that’s probably because of what you wanted to talk about a few days ago but I blew off…” He clarified.

He didn’t hear Cloud say anything, but he could feel those blue eyes looking at him now. That was enough for him. He gently spun on his heel and walked backwards, still going forward, but now with direct eye contact with the blond.

Cloud was still giving him that stiff, wounded look, but he could tell that his friend was actually paying attention to him now and not giving him the invisible treatment.

Zack stuck his hands in his pockets and pulled out a sympathetic look. “So, what did you want to talk about then?”

Cloud still remained quiet, keeping that look on his face too. Reminding himself to read the subtle facial clues, Zack was able to see that the cadet behind him was now looking faintly less angered; the slightly curved eyebrows and the tight lipped line that was his mouth giving him the clues he needed to fill in the blanks. But it appeared as though he still wasn’t wanting to talk. Maybe he could coax it out of him with a little more talking of his own.

“Look, I know I can be a little spacey and kinda dense when it comes to certain things, like um, reading the room for example? I know I probably should have stopped trying to get you to laugh that day when I noticed my usual banter wasn’t cutting it…” Zack said, his own brow furrowing gently.

He felt like he was talking in circles now, but at the very least, Cloud seemed a little more inclined to hear him out.

“…So, I guess what I’m trying to say here is that I’m sorry for not giving you a chance to say anything before. But, I can _definitely_ read the aura you’re giving off now, so… did you want to talk about it now?”

Cloud now looked rather hesitant and unsure again, most of the anger completely wiped from his face. He glanced away for a moment, as if gathering his thoughts in his head.

“I mean, I know we’re on a mission and all, but I’m thinking our search might be a dead one.” Zack mentioned.

They _had_ been roaming around in these caves for more than two hours now and still hadn’t found anything. It was probably bust intel spewed out just to get off the hook.

Cloud stopped walking then, so Zack was quick to do the same. They stood there for a few good moments, hearing nothing but the faint dripping of water from somewhere deeper within the caves.

“It’s just…” Cloud muttered.

Wow, the first words to come out of his mouth since he started ignoring him! He was finally going to figure out why his best friend was acting the way he was –the agony he felt over this was starting to kill him!

But Zack’s ears twitched when they picked up on the faintest sounds of rumbling somewhere not too far off. It seemed to be softer than the dripping water, but it didn’t sound near as soothing.

“I’m not really sure-”

“Shh!”

Now he had to put Cloud’s explanation on hold because of that sound. Not to mention that the cadet went right back to being angered and appalled after being shushed.

“Are you _kidding_ me right now?! You ask me to-!”

 _“Shh-!_ I hear something… _”_

Cloud bit back his rant but held the bitter taste it brought on his tongue, face screwed up in agitation. However that look didn’t last long when that rumbling didn’t sound as faint. It grew stronger, louder, closer even, until it eventually had the ground underneath their feet trembling. Pebbles and stones bounced around and they even started to shake though they stood perfectly still.

Then it stopped. It was over as quick as it came and confusion swiftly befell them.

“What was-”

Then the cave wall to their right burst open, shattered bits of rock and stone flying out faster than bullets. With quick reflexes, Zack held his arms up just as sharp stone fragments flew past him, nicking his skin and drawing paper-thin lines of blood to the surface. Three quick slashes on each arm, and one on his cheek underneath his right eye. Cloud was fortunately far enough away from the initial blast to avoid taking any residual damage.

Just after the noise of the crumbling rock and stone stopped, guttural growling and saliva splashing against the ground could be heard where an entrance to a new section of cave was exposed. Zack slowly lowered his arms from his face, eyes quickly glancing inside to see what had caused the sudden destruction. With a sharp gasp, he was quick to draw his blade and set his eyes firm.

“Cloud, draw your nightstick… we’ve got the physical form of lung cancer to deal with.” Zack ordered as he slowly made his way in to the new cavern.

“Physical form of-?” Cloud parroted in confusion.

What the hell was the supposed to mean? Lung cancer? Was that some form of inside… Oh. _That_ physical form. Zack was talking about a Malboro. But from the way his face hardened, it probably wasn’t an average one either. With a thick swallow, Cloud drew his nightstick and slowly followed behind him.

And before them both was the largest Malboro the two had probably ever seen, simulation or not. It had to have been at least five meters tall and probably double that in width. Thick saliva was dripping out of its large, gaping mouth as its massive tentacles writhed and squirmed all over the ground.

There, behind the massive monster, were all the weapons they were sent to retrieve. Zack was almost impressed. How had Corneo managed to sneak those high grade weapons in here without agitating the beast? How had he even _found_ this cavern? He may be a sleazy butterball, but he most certainly wasn’t a force to take lightly now.

All other thoughts he might have had were abruptly ended when the large beast let out a shrieking cry that reverberated and clicked, echoing throughout the spacious cave and making both their ears ring. This was not good. On their own, regular Malboros were a tough challenge, but a large one in a confined space and with only a First Class SOLDIER and an infantryman? That just spelled danger.

If they weren’t diligent and careful, they could have a real predicament on their hands.

The Malboro growled; the sound echoing throughout the cavern like a stalling car engine. It poised its tentacles higher into the air as it noticed Zack drawing near it with his blade unsheathed.

Even though the best had no eyes, Zack felt like he was being watched much like how a predator stalks prey. He slowly circled the beast, whereas the large monster remained centered in the cavern, but turning to keep facing him as needed. Unfortunately, the weapons that the Don managed to weasel in were too big and in too large of quantity to take them and make a break for it. The Malboro would have to be slain before they could even _think_ of retrieving the stolen goods.

Zack had little to no protective items to shield himself with –except one. He actually kept a Ribbon on him at all times, just in case the need should ever arise. He had found it on a tough mission and pocketed it for himself, not wanting to give it up along with his mission findings all those months ago.

But in this case…

His eyes quickly glanced to Cloud, breaking contact with the Malboro for a few split seconds. His friend was close by the entrance to the alcove with his nightstick in hand. From his quick glance, he could tell that the other was nervous and his face had lost some of its natural glow.

He’d feel much safer and more gusty if he gave the Ribbon to Cloud –silent treatment be damned, this was too dangerous of a situation to be thinking about pettiness. He hoped his best friend figured that out too.

Eyes re-locked to the Malboro, even as he kept circling the beast to try and get closer to the stolen weapon stash. The beast continued to turn, but made no move to strike. They were locked in a stalemate.

What should he do? If he made the first move, the large beast might counterattack by slashing him with a massive tentacle. On the other hand, if the monster struck first, it had a plethora of things to start with. The infamous Bad Breath attack wouldn’t do anything negative to him, but it could still function as a fast fleeting smokescreen. He wouldn’t be inflicted by blindness, but those few seconds of black fog would be enough for a surprise attack follow-up.

What to do?

From the corner of his eye, he noticed Cloud slowly creeping along the other side of it, circling in the opposite direction that Zack was going. If he could hold the beasts’ attention for a little while longer, then maybe Cloud would be able to sneak in and distract it with a solid hit. Then he would take that opportunity to rush over and give him the Ribbon. Then he’d have one less worry on his mind.

This could work.

Zack glared at the Malboro as hard as his eyes would let him, slightly shifting his sword as if he was about to pounce. The monster growled again, poising one tentacle a little higher as if to meet his bluff. Then he stopped circling, as did the beast. He made a fake move, raising his sword high above his head, acting out a strike. The Malboro growled and raised most of its’ tentacles to prepare for a counterstrike.

In that short, split of a moment, Cloud dashed up from behind the Malboro, leapt into the air, and smacked that beast in the back of its massive head as hard as he could with his nightstick. There was enough force to daze the monster, tentacles sporadically flailing as more drool fell out of its gaping mouth.

While the Malboro was temporarily out of commission, Zack booked it over to where Cloud landed, quickly fishing out the Ribbon from his back left pocket.

“Cloud! Take this!” Zack called, the Ribbon bunched into his outstretched fist.

“What is-?”

“Never mind that! Just put it on and you’ll be alright if that thing uses Bad Breath!”

With that, he skipped to a stop in front of Cloud and pushed the Ribbon into his free hand, subconsciously curling the cadet’s fingers around it so it wouldn’t fly away.

“Wait… Isn’t this a-”

The Malboro let out an enraged roar, seething with anger noting how it had been caught off guard and tricked. The sound of the roar made the two men flinch and cover their ears out of reflex. There was no time to answer Cloud’s questions, no time to even go over a decent battle plan now. The monster was pissed and that only meant it wasn’t going to toy with them anymore.

Zack knew they had to fight hard and that they had to do it quickly too. All he could do was just give pointers on how to subdue this pissed off creature, since Cloud didn’t have enough experience with these things to know how to take them down.

“Just watch out for those tentacles, try to take them out one-by-one if you can, and always go for the mouth to keep it from using Bad Breath!” Zack advised.

That was all the time he was given before the Malboro let out a shriek and began to slap its thick tentacles onto the ground and spin in a circle, effectively causing a form of earthquake and making the whole ground rumble and shake.

Zack hopped to the left while Cloud scrambled to the right when the cave floor split between them, leaving a large fissure in the ground. Not wanting to waste any more time, Zack leapt into the air, swinging his sword above his head in a circle, before bringing it down and cutting across the beasts’ back.

The Malboro let out a thick sounding cry, a few wriggly tentacles curling out of reflex from the gash in its back. It barked out a snarl and let one of its tentacles fly out.

Zack was able to leap away from the limb in time and avoid being smacked. He skidded back after landing, a dust cloud forming behind him as a few stray pebbles clattered from the impact. He shook out the sting from his hand as well as some dust clinging to his glove. He then clenched his fist and stood back up, prepping himself for another strike.

The Malboro opened its mouth wide, ready to unleash its infamous Bad Breath attack. With a choked squawk, Zack hastily reacted and sprang up to meet the monster head-on, then jammed his sword into the monster’s upper lip. The Malboro was quickly distracted from the pain and instead focused on flailing around to try and get that sword out of its lip.

It quickly whipped back its massive head and sent Zack flying into the wall with a cry of surprise. The whole room shook when he collided with the rock wall, loose fragments of it quickly falling like sand to the ground. It didn’t take long for him to follow suit and crash to the fissured ground with a loud wham, the air effectively stolen from his lungs.

“Zack!” Cloud cried in horrified surprise.

The Malboro began to thrash around wildly, the large sword still stuck into its lip. With a mighty cry, it jerked its head forward and dislodged the sword, sending the weapon hurdling through the air before becoming embedded into the wall on the other side. More rocks and dust scattered from the collision and caused the cavern to shake once more.

Cloud quickly holstered his nightstick and went to draw his rifle, quickly running to where his friend had fallen and was now struggling to get up. Once in front of him, he stood his ground and readied his gun, aiming directly at the back of the Malboro’s head. As soon as the beast started to move, he fired off shots as fast as he could.

Each shot had the Malboro flinch and blood would spurt from each place the bullets struck. If anything, it just seemed to make the beast more mad. It growled again and slammed all of its tentacles to the ground as hard as it could, making the whole earth under their feet tremble and split.

The cadet stumbled, but remained standing on wobbly feet. He had to make sure he could buy Zack enough time to get back up and reclaim his sword. He was still mildly miffed at his SOLDIER friend and felt a little wounded, but now was not the time to let those emotions cause his friend harm. Even though he was upset and conflicted, he would still fight beside him. Maybe when this was over they would have a chance to talk, but until then, they had to keep fighting.

Besides, he knew Zack was still looking out for him –he was given a Ribbon after all. Those prevented most, if not all, status abnormalities. So it’s not like Zack didn’t care. Perhaps Cloud shouldn’t have gotten so mad at him those few days ago. They both knew how the other would react if either of them was feeling a certain way. He should have just said it.

If they made it out of this, Cloud would tell him what he wanted to say and apologize for his outburst, even if the talk didn’t go the right way. But first, they had to take this beast down.

Once the shaking finally stopped, Cloud went right back to firing –reloading and changing out bullets as fast as he could. The Malboro kept screeching and growling, trying to get away from the barrage of bullets rupturing its flesh. However, due to the size of the cavern, there wasn’t much room for the massive beast to move about. All it could do was keep wildly thrashing its tentacles around and hoping it would eventually connect.

About this time, Zack was finally able to regain his bearings and catch his breath. He carefully stood back up when he deduced the cracked ground wasn’t going to split any further.

“Thanks for the backup!” Zack stated over the popping noise of the gunfire.

He didn’t expect a response; there was too much to focus on. Instead, he waited until he could get a clear opening to run and reclaim his sword. When a few bullets made the Malboro whine and flinch, he took his opportunity and rushed towards the other side of the cave. A tentacle came flying out from his right and Zack made quick work of somersaulting to dodge it, back on his feet and at top speed again just seconds after the action.

Thankfully, Cloud’s cover fire was just enough to keep the Malboro from targeting him, so he was able to make it across the cavern expeditiously with little to no trouble. Once he was standing underneath where his sword was lodged, he sunk to the ground to build up strength before leaping into the air with a high jump. He reached up at the last second and his hand connected to the hilt of his great blade, effectively stopping his upward momentum. Once he had a firm grip on the handle, he knew he was back in action.

With a devious glint in his eyes, a smile tugged at his mouth as he planted both feet against the wall, both hands now gripping the hilt. With an exuberant battle cry that sounded like a challenging laugh, Zack pulled his sword out of the stone wall, pushed off with his feet, and used that strength and speed to propel himself towards the Malboro from the air.

He sped through the air like one of Cloud’s bullets and readied his weapon. Another grin cracked across his face when he ended up above the large beast. He quickly redirected his momentum and bought himself straight down to the monster’s large head, embedding his sword into it as far as it would go.

Thick black blood spurt and oozed from the massive wound now in the top of its head and it let out a pained screech. It wrestled and writhed about as hard as it could to try and fling him off. Zack only gripped his sword tighter and tried to press it down even further into its head, all while Cloud’s bullets kept lodging themselves in from the back.

At this rate, they just might be able to take down this great Malboro! They were outputting enough damage to keep the beast stunned and locked in place from all the chip damage, and with Zack’s blade now stuck in its head, he wasn’t planning on letting up any time soon.

Instead, he started to stab the top of the Malboro’s head over and over again, using as much upper arm strength as possible. The monster kept shrieking and crying out, hoping if it screeched loud enough then the two attacking it would flinch; no such luck.

Running out of options, the Malboro resorted to the last ditch tactic it had and charged itself into the nearest wall. Rocks and stones split away and the cavern shook once more. The force of the impact caused Zack to waver, but a quick stab right into the head again kept him from going anywhere.

Again and again the large beast kept smacking itself against the wall, hoping to dislodge him from his head. It was starting to get harder to hold on the more frantic the monster became, the blind panic making its movements swifter and its striking more accurate.

It quickly spun around and charged itself towards the other side of the room, massive head ducked down. Zack knew what was to come if he didn’t bail now –that Malboro would headbutt the wall just to get him off, sword still in its head or not. He went to hastily remove his sword, but only found himself stuck. He must have stabbed a bit too hard on that last strike and lacked the necessary energy to pull it back out.

“Zack! What are you doing?” Cloud cried, noting how fast the Malboro was rushing itself across the cave.

“I’m stuck!” Zack exclaimed, trying once more to dislodge his broadsword from the monster –no such luck.

“Then leave it! If you stay there then-!”

Cloud’s obvious warning was a moment too late, for the Malboro hopped up and lunged its head straight at the wall. A loud boom echoed across the cave as dust, rock, and stone all flew in multiple directions. The cavern shook, but not near as much has it had done before. The dust was thick and coarse, which lowered visibility and Cloud started to cough.

The monster staggered back with a disoriented growl with the sword still lodged into its head, only deep enough to the point where only the hilt was visible. How the beast lived through that was beyond Cloud’s comprehension. Its body moved haphazardly, but sustained the blow and additional deep stab nonetheless. After a rush like that, it was going to take a moment to regain its wits, so there was a fraction in time where they were safe for now.

But what about Zack? Had he managed to jump off at the last possible second and avoid damage? Cloud couldn’t tell; the dust was still clouding his sight and making his lungs burn. His heart started to hammer in his chest when all he heard was the rubble from the wall clattering on the ground and nothing else. He didn’t hear Zack at all; no grunt, no laugh, not a sound at all.

The debris started to mellow and clear; Cloud’s coughing settling as well. He squinted his eyes, scanning the foggy distance to make out any sign of his friend. But once his startled blue eyes connected with what he was searching for, his breath froze in his lungs and his heart stilled for a moment.

Zack was hunched over against the crater the Malboro created, stones and rocks were strewn all over his body with a rather large one pinning him down by his right leg. There was blood coming out of a deep gash somewhere on his head and it was trickling down his face and coating the left side of it. Cuts and deep slashes decorated his arms and the scintillating red blood only enhanced that gruesome image. He appeared dazed –if not unconscious.

 _“Zack!”_ Cloud cried with great emotion.

Alas, his voice brought the Malboro out of its confused and disoriented state, now back to growling and snarling monstrous threats at them. It let out a massive cry of rage, blinded by it after what had happened to it.

The noise caused Zack to moan, but weakly and with barely any coherency behind it. He must barely be conscious at this point. At least he was still aware of his surroundings and situations, but in his current state, he wouldn’t be able to do anything.

He wasn’t able to react at all when the Malboro sucked in a large breath, then let loose with its detrimental Bad Breath attack. It filled the room like thick black smog, coating every inch it possibly could. It made breathing close to impossible; Cloud felt like he was choking just by inhaling. It hurt: it hurt to breathe and the smoke made his eyes sting and water. All of this and he actually had a Ribbon on him.

Wait. That Ribbon, if Zack hadn’t given it to him, then... What was Zack suffering through?

Once the thought entered his head, the smoke was quick to clear and visibility returned. Cloud wouldn’t be able to know what was wrong unless he got closer to where Zack’s unresponsive body was. He didn’t want to see, but he needed to know what status effects he had been afflicted with. if he didn’t know and they ended up being serious, then it was quite possible he could die in his current state.

Cloud was quick to scramble to his feet and book it over to Zack, hoping with all his might that the Malboro wouldn’t come after him. Thankfully, he was given that long of a reprieve and he was able to make it to his friend’s side within moments. He was quick to slide to his knees with his breath caught in his chest and his heart slamming wildly within.

“ _Zack!_ Zack, are you alright??” Cloud cried, worry making his eyes water tremendously. He even took enough time to push that rock off his friend’s leg.

But Zack didn’t answer him. There was no need –Cloud could see exactly why he wasn’t answered and it left him feeling so cold he thought his soul had frozen over.

Zack was foaming at the mouth, lilac bubbles dribbling from his lips and splattering on his shirt. The purple bubbles were even fizzing out from every bloody cut on his body just like his mouth. His eyes had a strange glaze over them as though he had been born blind, the usual Mako sheen to them completely overtaken. From what he knew, Zack had been poisoned and blinded. Those were the only two effects Cloud could differentiate right away, but he didn’t know what the others looked like.

But in his condition and at this rate…he might die. Being inflicted with poison while sporting all those wounds? Not good. This had turned from a bad situation and into a straight up emergency.

Cloud was beyond scared at this point.

Zack had given up his Ribbon and let him have it, well knowing what could happen if he himself didn’t hold onto it. Cloud had wanted to talk about what happened three days ago before the Malboro showed up. Zack had looked apologetic and sincere and now Cloud felt like a grade A jerk for ignoring him and treating him like he had done something unforgivable.

This was his fault… If he hadn’t been so busy being mad at Zack, then maybe he would have caught onto the Malboro faster, could have prevented it from catching them off guard. They found the weapons because of it, but that wouldn’t mean anything to him if his best friend died over a mission like this! He hadn’t even apologized yet!

Cloud grit his teeth, doing his best to steel his nerves and reign in his fright. He couldn’t worry about Zack just yet –there was still a Malboro that needed to be defeated. He slowly stood back up on his feet, fists formed and eyes set. He spun on his heel and glared at the Malboro.

“How… _Dare you!”_ Cloud snarled.

The Malboro slightly backed away, as if intimidated by the cadet’s murderous glare alone. He continued to approach the monster with a slow and powerful stride, getting the point across that he was pissed.

“How _dare_ you do this to my best friend!”

A light blue aura swirled around Cloud in that moment, his eyes shimmering the same color as it. He felt light and strong, like he could take on the whole world and still have the strength left to stand and laugh afterwards. This raw energy gave him enough courage to take on the beast alone and not feel scared. He was _going_ to make this monster pay! If Zack didn’t make it through this, well… just more than the Malboro would get annihilated.

The monster had backed up into one of the cave walls, tentacles curling in and trying to shrink away. It couldn’t go back any further. Cloud kept walking until he was only feet away from it, glaring up at the large beast with blue fire burning in his eyes.

“You will pay for what you’ve done!” Cloud growled.

Then, filled with a sense of raw power, he leapt up into the air with ease. He lingered in the air for a moment before gravity took back ahold of him and sent him hurdling down towards the Malboro. With a mighty cry, Cloud landed hard on the monster’s head, the force behind his collision paralyzing it swiftly to keep it from wriggling away. Then he grabbed the hilt of Zack’s sword and tugged it, the blade now sideways in the Malboro’s head. Once it was at a good angle, Cloud gripped it tightly with both hands and jumped down from the beast’s head, dragging the sword down with him.

The Malboro’s body tore like scissors through paper as the glow around Cloud became bright and blinding, washing the whole cavern in white. The beast let out a cry that sounded pained, but then faded into something soft and choked. Cloud touched down to the ground with Zack’s sword in hand, the massive blade feeling as light as a feather.

The aura around him faded and his eyes went back to their normal blue. Cloud blinked, once, twice even. Where had that strength come from? He wasn’t even aware he possessed power like that! It came on so suddenly it felt like it wasn’t even his own.

When the light completely dissipated and he looked back to survey the damage he did, the Malboro’s body was nowhere to be found. Only white specks of light were seen sprinkling down to the ground before they quickly faded away. But if he looked closely, there was something on the ground where the Malboro’s body once was. He walked up towards it and observed it curiously.

But the curiosity faded and was replaced with overjoyed shock. The Malboro had dropped a remedy when it disappeared. It was rare, but monsters could sometimes drop items after being slain. He was just lucky enough to get that chance! He could save Zack!

He all but lunged at the remedy and scooped it up in his hands, almost dropping it a few times from his haste. He wasted no time is scurrying back to the other side of the cavern where Zack’s limp frame still slouched. His heart started to beat rapidly within his chest again. He hoped Zack was still hanging on and fighting off the afflictions has best as he could. There was no grace and no pride; Cloud came crashing back as sloppily as could be, trading a small amount of dignity for maximum speed.

He slid in front of Zack, dust pooling behind him from the skid. He popped the lid off the remedy and hastily wiped the foam away from his friend’s mouth before tipping the vial back. Some of it splattered out, but thankfully most of it managed to get where it needed to be.

Within seconds of swallowing, the haze from Zack’s eyes vanished and he stopped foaming purple bubbles –same with the cuts on his arms and face. The remedy couldn’t take care of his injuries, but at least he was out of the danger zone now. He slowly blinked a few times, eyes glancing about the cave as if he might have forgotten where he was.

“…Cloud?” He asked, voice a little hoarse.

Moisture swelled in the blond’s eyes and he threw his arms around his friend, earning a small noise of surprise from the action.

“Zack, I’m sorry! I’m sorry I ignored you for the last few days, and I’m sorry I treated you like dirt!”

“Wha? No, it’s okay, Spike…” Zack shook his head and returned the gesture, arms around his friend now too. “I should’a read the room better then.”

“No, it’s _not_ okay! I should have just said what was on my mind! But… I didn’t.”

“Well, now that we found the weapons and you took out the Malboro, you can tell me now.”

Cloud pulled away from his friend with a frown on his face. “But you’re still hurt.”

“Maybe… but whatever it was that you wanted to tell me that day looked pretty important.” Zack grinned, even though the blood on his face made the kind gesture pale in comparison.

“But… shouldn’t we worry about finishing the mission and making sure you’re okay first?”

“Even if I contact Shin-Ra that we found the weapons now, it would still take an hour or so for the chopper to get us. Besides, these wounds aren’t that bad –I’ve had worse!”

“Still…”

But Zack just placed his hands on Cloud’s and gave him another grin, still supplying the smiles he was so well known for.

“So now that we’re back on speaking terms again, you wanna tell me that important thing now?”

Zack did take one of his hands back to wipe most of the blood off his face. Some of it smeared a bit, but most of it managed to come off after a swipe or two.

“I… don’t really know how to put it into words now…” Cloud admitted, glancing away with both a deflated and nervous look on his face.

Zack could see there was a blush forming on his best friend’s face. If he read into the atmosphere, maybe he could take a guess as to what he wanted to say. So he observed a little more intently. The way Cloud held himself didn’t seem as sure now. He seemed like he got smaller, like he shrunk away from the prospect of further interaction.

There was a peculiar glint in his eyes –they glowed but were somehow pained at the same time. He could see his hands wring themselves out at the fingertips and he wasn’t keeping eye contact with him anymore. He kinda looked like a little kid with his first…

 _Oohh._ That explains it.

Zack was able to piece together what his friend wanted to talk about or say now. He understood why he couldn’t find the right words for it. A huge and endearing smile spread across his face before he leaned in and gently kissed his best friend on the cheek.

It was obvious now that Cloud had a crush on him. He didn’t mind that one bit –he liked his friend like that too. Of course, only Angeal knew about his own little crush.

When he pulled away, he couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on the cadet’s face. He looked dumbstruck, as if every process in his brain shut down all at once. His face turned a few shades pinker and he looked about ready to melt. But his eyes were glistening brightly, letting Zack know that he had guessed correctly.

“Wh-When did you figure that out?” Cloud stammered, his voice as quiet as a mouse’s.

“Just now!” Zack smirked. “But Y’know…I like you too.”

Cloud’s face was completely red now and one of his hands hid his eyes. But Zack just grinned before he placed another kiss to his cheek, laughing when his whole face was soon hidden away by his hands.

“Alright, now what say we call up Shin-Ra so we can get out of here?”

“…Yeah..” Cloud quietly agreed from behind his hands.

* * *

**END**

**Author's Note:**

> Day two will be uploaded tomorrow! Hoped you liked my take on day one's prompt of Emergency :) Leave a kudo or comment if you want~! Much thanks <3


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